Wednesday, February 28, 2007

February '07

HUNTER X HUNTER #7-9
-Y. Togashi-manga
-Kurapika is on the hunt for the killers of his[and I'm still not convinced that "he" is a "he". either an extremely bishie guy or a female in disguise] clan, and in cahoots with Hisoka, who while a Spider himself, wants to kill the leader.

ONE PIECE #4
-E. Oda-manga

SHAMAN KING #7-9
-H. Takei-manga
-Yoh finishes the prelims, saves Ren and they become friends. The Tournament takes place in America and book nine ends with the Patch Jumbo Jet dissolving and dropping all the contestants at 40,000 feet, and if they survive the drop, they have 3 months to make it to the Patch reservation.

BROTHERS KARAMAZOV
-F. Dostoyevsky-russian classic
-822-man, I think I am done with russian classics for at least the next 6 months. Ok, this follows the Karamazov family. Father, 3 sons by 2 different wives, and one illegitimate son. The father is a dissolute, sensualist who amasses a great fortune, and tries to buy the affection of a loose young woman. This Woman is also being sought by one of the sons. But he is engaged to a young lady in town. This young lady, is in turn, loved by another brother. The 3rd brother is a monk, who comes out into the non-monastic life after his spiritual father dies. Eventually the illegitimate son kills the father, implicates the eldest son, and drives a wedge between the 1 and 2 son. The third son is the only good one of the whole bunch. I know now why I don't really like russian classics. They go on and on about subjects that have nothing to do with the story. Usually philosophical, religous or political speeches, stories or writings by a sub character. Ugh.

MEGATOKYO #1-3
-F. Gallager & R. Caston-Amerimanga
-follows the adventures of Piro and Largo. Starts with them going to E3[an electronics get together, super big, etc], being denied entrance and going on a drunken binge. They end up using the rest of their money to fly to Tokyo. About their adventures in Tokyo and trying to earn money to fly back to America.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
-A. Niffenegger-scifi romance
-518-a man is able to spontaneously time travel. But he has no control over it. He always comes back to where he left. This is the account of his romance with his wife to be and his wife. The author[who is a woman] seems to be sex obsessed. That is my only problem with this book, there are enough graphic scenes that I can't recommend it to other singles. It is fantastically written, an emotional tour-de-force, compelling, it forced me to finish it, keeping me glued to it the entire time. I read it in 3 days. If I ever get married, I will buy this book. But not until then. Love Across Time.

FLCL VOL 1&2
-Gainax-manga
-the artwork is incomprehensible, so much so that I couldn't really follow the storyline. Something to do with a boy, a girl, some robots and just general weirdness. I have no desire to watch the anime now.

DEATH NOTE VOL 7-9
-T. Ohba-manga
-L dies, Light takes his name, but there is a whole orphanage filled with talented youngsters being trained as potential "L"s. The 2 front runners take over where L left off, in trying to uncover Kira. Another Shinigami enters the picture, but is dispatched quickly enough. The new two "L"s are young, and not truly "L"s, but one takes the name of "Near" and the other, who turns out to be a practical sociopath, goes by the name of "Mello".

CONGO
-M. Crichton-scientific fiction
-313-written in the early 80's, about the "greatness of computers" and a lost city in Congo. A new type of gorilla and blue diamonds. Gorillas trained to kill humans. Slower than Jurassic Park, but not nearly so as Andromeda Strain. I'd like to see the movie now.

BEOWULF'S CHILDREN
-L. Niven, J. Pournelle, S. Barnes-scifi
-382-sequel to Legacy of Heorot. The next generation, leaving the island of Camelot to explore the mainland of Avalon. New terrors, external and internal also. An intelligent grendel. Interesting.

OH MY GODDESS! #24
-K. Fujishima-manga
-Keiichi lets his dad win the race. Mom and Dad still don't find out that Bell is a goddess, and finally, Lind[a Valkery] sets a protective barrier around the house because some device was stolen in Heaven.

W JULIET #11-12
-Emura-manga
-graduation is only 2 months away. Makoto shows his talent in the school festival play, despite sabotage and a side story about criminals taking one of the players hostage. This series is almost saccharin sweet with all the believe in yourself's thrown around. But I still like the overall romance and the twist about Makoto :-)

ONE PIECE # 5-6
-E. Oda-manga
-Luffy saves the village, Usop joins the crew, and they all end up at the floating restuarant where things really start to brew.

CERES: CELESTIAL LEGEND #1-5
-Y. Watase-manga
-based on the Japanese version of the swan princess. A man steals a goddess's clothes, she marries him, and their children reveal where her clothes are hidden and off she goes back to heaven. Well, this centers around what happens if the goddess never found her clothes. Follows a family in which the original goddess reincarnates until she finds a suitable host. This series centers around that happening.

THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON: THE LAST TALE OF THE OTORI
-L. Hearn-fantasy
-508-an unexpected, and final, tale of the Otori. Takeo is threatened by the Emperor, who is taking an interest now that the Three Countries are doing well, and also by Zenko Arai, who's life was spared by Takeo. Deals with his eldest daughter, twin daughters, and the son who is being raised by Akio, to fulfill the prophecy of his son being the only one able to kill Takeo. In the end, Takeo is betrayed by Kaede, allows himself to be killed, and through it all keeps the peace of the Three Countries. Sad but fulfilling. Not depressing.

MEGATOKYO #4
-F. Gallagher-amerimanga
-233-more of Piro and Largo. I love this series :-)

DEBT OF BONES
-T. Goodkind-fantasy
-119- short story sequel to the Sword of Truth series. About Zed and Abbey and how Zed raises the barriers between the lands. Interesting indeed.

TSUBASA RESERVOIR CHRONICLE #12
-Clamp-manga
-184-Sakura wins, but "Dr Kyle" shows up and proves that he too can travel between worlds. A drunk Mokona, black or white, is absolutely hilarious. Probably wouldn't let a younger teen read this because of its funny portrayal of alcohal. Not a good example for impressionable minds.